Various types of personal vaporizers have been known in the art for many years. In general, such vaporizers are characterized by heating a solid to a smoldering point, vaporizing a liquid by heat, or nebulizing a liquid by heat and/or by expansion through a nozzle. Such devices are designed to release aromatic materials in the solid or liquid while avoiding high temperatures of combustion and associated formation of tars, carbon monoxide, or other harmful byproducts. Preferably, the device releases a very fine mist with a mouth feel similar to smoke, under suction. Thus, a vaporizing device can be made to mimic traditional smoking articles such as cigarettes, cigars, pipes and hookahs in certain aspects, while avoiding significant adverse health effects of traditional tobacco or other herbal consumption.
While various designs are long known, it is only relatively recently that technology has improved and markets have developed to the point to make mass marketing of personal vaporizers practical. A large variety of rechargeable and disposal products have become popular. In both types of popular products on the market today, control of the vaporization products is generally limited to managing the supply of a vaporizing fluid at the point of production or recharging. In other words, once a vaporizing device is supplied with its vaporizing fluid, its output is predetermined based on user control (e.g., by sucking on a mouthpiece). Accordingly, control of the output composition is not possible without replacing the vaporizing fluid or using a different device that has been supplied with a different fluid.
It would be desirable, therefore, to develop new technologies for controlling operation of a vaporizing or nebulizing device, that overcomes these and other limitations of the prior art, and enhances the utility of such devices.